ANXIETY and frustration were prevalent among the 45 residents at a public consultation meeting regarding North Yorkshire County Council’s proposals for Stokesley Library.

Their concerns were echoed by the leader of Richmondshire District Council, Cllr John Blackie, who described his experience of helping to set up the community office in Hawes, which includes a library along with other services. He said that he had received a lot of support from county library services, but could not have done it without the £13,000 funding for staff and building costs.

He was greeted with applause from the audience when he said: "The county cannot shed these responsibilities on to the community."

At the start of the meeting, the county's assistant director for policy and partnerships, Neil Irving, presented the financial reasons for the proposed changes, highlighting a 34 per cent budget reduction over nine years.

Assistant director for library, customer and community services, Julie Blaisdale, then outlined the proposed structure, within which Stokesley Library would be funded, operated and managed by volunteers. The library would remain as part of the county’s statutory service, but a service agreement would be drawn up with the voluntary group to define the support offered by the council, the expectations for the library and the responsibilities that the group would have for the maintenance of the buildings, development of resources, facilities, events and activities.

Mrs Blaisdale emphasised that closure was a last resort, but admitted that it was a possibility.

District councillor Jackie Griffiths, along with others at the meeting, felt that Stokesley was too large to have a community-run library, particularly given its high running costs. Mr Irving responded that the county would try to level out costs across communities. This funding would concentrate on start-up costs and rent.

Parish councillor Caroline asked if it might be possible for staff to be paid through a charitable body, rather than directly by the council. She also wondered how many volunteers would be prepared to deal with the type of anti-social behaviour that had occurred on a number of occasions in the library during the last year.

Several of those present thought that a community-led library would only be feasible if an administrator and a paid librarian were funded by raising the parish council precept, as had been the case in Great Ayton. However, it was pointed out that people who lived in smaller towns would then be paying more for library services than those in large towns that had a core library.

Mrs Blaisdale admitted that it would be a tough challenge for the community, but said if paid staff were to be employed across all of the libraries, they would only be able to open for a few hours each week. Also, under the proposal, the community would have much more control over opening times and use of the library and would be able to make it fit local needs.

David Pallent-Home, representing the Stokesley Library Campaign Group, said that there was an over-riding view that a community library may be able to run in the short-term, but questioned whether it was sustainable. He said that they had now more than 1,200 signatures on the petition for hybrid status.

County councillor Bryn Griffith said that he had supported the local campaign. He said that when the library had been moved, the county and district councils had put a significant amount of money into the new building and that it would be a shame for everybody concerned if that money was wasted. He thought that it was necessary to explore ways that paid staff could be funded.

The consultation period finishes on Sunday, February 8.